


Electric Love

by PoemAboutCitylights



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt, M/M, TikTok, kissing your crush - songchallenge, not-actually-unrequited feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 07:47:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26968489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoemAboutCitylights/pseuds/PoemAboutCitylights
Summary: Charles' laugh is the sound to which Pierre's heart breaks.
Relationships: Pierre Gasly/Charles Leclerc
Comments: 11
Kudos: 77





	Electric Love

Pierre looks outside, through the window of his motorhome, and can’t see anything but grey. The sky is grey, the track is grey, even the faces passing by now and then seem to be hidden behind a grey filter.  
The weather makes him almost glad that he doesn’t have to be out there at the moment, even though it’s said weather that has forced them to stay inside all day.  
The first session of the day has already been cancelled and now it’s all about delays and waiting, but he’s pretty sure that they can’t get out on the Nürbugring today.

Which means he would have preferred just heading back to the hotel, instead of having to wait in the paddock for a session that was most likely never going to start, anyway.  
He feels bored and so does Charles, apparently.  
The Monégasque had come over from his Ferrari motorhome about half an hour ago and Pierre hadn’t minded the company.  
Might as well be bored together.

So while he is looking outside, eyes following some crew members that have actually dared to step a foot outside, Charles is spending the time on his phone.

“What are you doing?” he asks his friend and the Monégasque only looks up after a couple of seconds, apparently drawn in by whatever he is watching on his phone.  
He’s got his airpods in and takes on of them out, eventually.

“Tiktok,” the Ferrari driver says and Pierre frowns at him.  
“You’re on tiktok?”  
“You’re not?” Charles asks back, disbelief written all over his face.  
“No?” Pierre says, suddenly wondering if that makes him old.

“But you do know how it works, non?” Charles asks and from the look in his green eyes, Pierre can tell that he _definitely_ thinks he’s old.  
“Oui? Some tiktok videos are on Instagram.”

Charles chuckles at that and places back a strand of hair that has fallen into his face despite the bandana he is wearing.  
His hair doesn’t stay behind his ear for long, though, and loosens again a second later.  
Pierre follows the movement of Charles’ elegant fingers a bit awkwardly.

“So, do you make videos yourself?” he asks the Monégasque and Charles grins.  
“Yeah, I’ve started a few days ago. The fans are crazy about the app,” he replies and Pierre automatically has to smile back at the younger man. He draws in his bottom lip.

“What videos did you film?”  
Charles shrugs, edging closer to Pierre where they are sitting on the couch, turning his phone so the Frenchman can see it.  
“Mostly lip-synching,” the younger one says and Pierre takes his phone from his hand, looking at the last tiktok that Charles has posted.

Charles has recorded it with his front camera and it shows him in his yellow hoodie, wearing a white bandana. There is music playing in the background, when Charles winks into the camera and blows a strand of hair out of his face.  
  
_Oops_

_My heart went –_

The beat suddenly drops and the music shifts, while hoodie-Charles disappears and is suddenly replaced by Charles in his racing suit with his fireproofs on.

_Oops, yup  
My heart just got stuck between these loops_

Tiktok-Charles gives the camera an intense look, his eyes dropping once before he winks and closes the front of his racing suit.

Pierre blinks at the screen and at the video that now starts playing again, swallowing while he watches Charles wink another time and doing the little jump before the beat drops once again.

He feels the eyes of the actual Charles, who is sitting next to him on the couch, on his skin and when he turns towards the Monégasque, there is a genuinely excited look on his face.  
“What do you think?” Charles asks enthusiastically and Pierre needs a moment to collect his thoughts.  
“Looks like it’s fun filming it,” he says and Charles nods excitedly.  
“Want to see another one?” the Monégasque asks and Pierre is sure that his friend wouldn’t take no as an answer anyway, so he nods along.

The next video that Charles shows him has text in it and it says “What I would Wear if I…” while music is playing once again. The Monégasque is walking on the spot, which doesn’t seem to make much sense to Pierre, but he keeps watching, until both the text and Charles shift.

“Monaco” the text bubble now says and Charles is wearing a white designer shirt (although Pierre can’t tell which brand it is for the life of him) and some patterned pants, along with mirrored sunglasses and a dark watch on his wrist.

The image shifts again, now saying “Milano”.  
Charles is wearing a Dolce & Gabbana hoodie in this one, which Pierre knows because he has seen it on the Monégasque a couple of times before.

The video eventually says “at work” and Charles is wearing his full Ferrari wear again, the red suiting him in the way it always does.

“This was so stressful to film!” Charles says and lets out a chuckle, the sound sending shivers down Pierre’s spine from sitting so close to the younger one.  
“I can imagine,” Pierre comments and the corners of his lips curl up in a smile.  
“It was fun, though!” Charles makes sure to say, before his eyes suddenly widen as if he’s just come up with an idea.  
Pierre frowns at his best friend, already sensing where this is going.

“Do you want to be in one?” Charles asks, basically bouncing with excitement already, and Pierre wants to say no, because who is he? Some 14 year old tiktok boy?  
But Charles’ green eyes are all big and pleading now and Goddamn it, the day that Pierre says no to Charles is the day that hell freezes close, so he lets out a sigh and shrugs his shoulders.  
“What do I have to do?”

Charles grins at him, “Nothing. I’ve thought of something already.”  
“Nothing?” Pierre asks and frowns at the younger one.  
The Ferrari driver nods, “You’ll see.”

Pierre watches how Charles sets his phone down on the table in front of them, stabilizing it with Ferrari-branded water bottle to prevent it from falling over.  
The Frenchman has never filmed a video on tiktok, hasn’t even downloaded the app, so he watches all of it with a mixture of curiosity and scepticism. But Charles looks like he seems to know what he’s doing.

“What now?” Pierre asks once Charles has made sure that the camera angle does actually film both of them.  
“Just wait!” Charles commands and Pierre frowns at him once again, sighing while he waits for Charles to sit back down on the couch.

He watches Charles, who seems to be a bit fidgety, but there is an amused smile playing on his lips and Pierre really doesn’t know what to make of it.  
Suddenly, a song starts playing and Pierre guesses that it’s part of the filming. It takes him a second to recognize the song, but he is sure that he has heard it before.  
He shoots Charles another curious look and the Monégasque is currently looking into the camera of his phone, pulling a grimace that Pierre doesn’t understand.

And then Charles suddenly turns towards him and Pierre almost jumps when Charles’ fingers touch his back, feeling feathery light on the fabric of his team shirt.  
Charles is looking at him now, his green eyes wandering over his face, while it seems like he has come even closer, and Pierre’s frown deepens at the scene in front of him.  
He watches how Charles’ eyes drop and then come back up, watches how Charles’ other hand comes down on his thigh and Pierre can feel the warmth of his fingers through the material of his pants.

It is when Charles leans in some more, his green eyes hypnotising the Frenchman, that he realizes why the song sounds so familiar and where he has heard it before.  
He might not be on tiktok but he surely spends a lot of his time waiting on Instagram and he has watched dozens of these videos in which people kiss their crushes, their best friends, to finally reveal their feelings for them.

And from this point on, time just seems to slow down for Pierre.  
He takes in Charles’ face that is just centimetres away from his now, notices how the pressure of the Monégasque’s hand on his back increases a little.  
He looks at his best friends lips, at his face that must have been crafted by the Gods themselves. His eyes trail over Charles’ cheekbones and over the bridge of his nose, eventually coming back down to the Ferrari driver’s lips.  
They look soft in the light of his motorhome and they are parted a little, whilst they’re close enough now to feel the air that Charles is exhaling on his face.  
Pierre’s gaze wanders back up, his gaze interlocking with Charles’.

He feels drawn in by the green in the other man’s glance, feels like he could drown in the infinity of Charles’ eyes.  
He notices how his heartbeat picks up speed, until his heart is basically beating in his throat, tattooing a song of longing against his ribs with every vibrant pump. He has frozen on his spot on the couch and time still seems to work differently while he looks at Charles, at his best friend, at the man that has been so much for to him for so long now.

_I can’t let you go now that I got it_

But could it be? Could it be that Charles actually feels the same? That he shares that aching feeling in Pierre’s chest, that he has been wanting this just as much as Pierre does? Has Charles spent sleepless nights just like him?

Charles is beautiful in a way that Pierre knows he could never be and he’s been in love with his best friend for so long that he can’t even tell when it has started.  
It’s been so long that he can’t even remember what it is like not to love the younger one, for Charles is everything he wants, he’s everything he _needs_.

And Charles still comes closer and Pierre’s breath gets caught in his throat, while his heart is beating so fast now that he feels like it might implode any second.  
Charles’ hand comes up to cup his jaw, to draw him in a little closer, and Pierre leans into the touch, looking at his best friend with big eyes and a heart that’s been beating for the other man for years.

_All I need is to be struck  
By your electric-…_

And just when Pierre thinks Charles will close the last millimetres between them now, with the Monégasque’s warm fingers still cupping his jaw, Charles draws back.  
Pierre suddenly hears what sounds like SIRI speaking in the background, listening to her words absently, while he feels his whole body freezing.

 _Sike bitch, you really thought that I was gonna kiss you,_ the monotone female voice says and Pierre feels his heart clench, feels like all blood is vanishing from his face, while his lungs seem to scrunch.

And Charles laughs at him, laughs his beautiful laugh, and it’s the sound to which Pierre’s heart breaks, while he feels heat now rushing to his face, embarrassment washing over him.  
He stares at his friend in shock whilst Charles bends over in laughter, clapping his back. Pierre flinches at the touch, whilst the realization of what has just happened slowly dawns on him.

Charles has never intended to kiss him.  
Charles had wanted to prank him. Maybe he had even thought that Pierre would shove him away or be disgusted at the attempt and Charles had thought this was _funny_ , that this would provide good _content_.

And Pierre feels so hurt that he can’t even breathe. He can’t do anything but stare at Charles, who is still laughing, because his body is paralyzed, his limps growing ice cold.  
For one moment in time, for one blink of an eye that had seemed infinite to Pierre, he had thought that Charles, _beautiful Charles_ , felt the same way that he does.   
But _of course_ he doesn’t, how could he even think that?

Charles is Charles and he’s just Pierre an Charles would never love him in the way that he needs him to.  
He eventually manages to draw his eyes away from the Monégasque, breathing flatly through his mouth, and he wants to curl up in a ball, wants to throw Charles out of his motorhome and hide for the rest of the weekend, preferably the year.  
He feels stupid, just so goddamn stupid, and ridiculed as well.  
And he can still hear Charles chuckling, the sound just seeming cruel now.

“Let’s look how the video turns out!” Charles says and Pierre wants to cry, his gaze dropping to his hands in his lap.  
Charles lets out another chuckle while he gets up from the couch to pick up his phone.  
“Did you actually think I was going to kiss you?” he asks in amusement and laughs.

Pierre can’t answer him, can’t even look at him, and from the corner of his eyes, he sees Charles kneeling down in front of the small table, taking back his phone.  
He does look at the younger one, eventually, though, watching him with his phone in his hands, whilst he feels his chest clenching up once again.  
He pulls up his legs, wrapping his arms loosely around his knees, while Charles watches the video they’ve just recorded.

He knows that something isn’t right the second Charles looks up, all amusement gone from his face. And Charles’ eyes widen a little more when his gaze falls upon Pierre hugging his knees.  
The Monégasque’s lips part and Pierre doesn’t want to look at him, he really doesn’t, not when embarrassment is currently making his face burn, but he’s never able to stop staring at Charles, not even now.

Charles’ mouth opens and closes a few times and Pierre can hear him breathing, before the younger one says, “You’re not laughing.”  
And Pierre does want to laugh at that now, because quite obviously he is _not_.

Charles’ green eyes are piercing now, shock written all over the other man’s face.  
“You-…” Charles starts, but doesn’t finish his sentence, and instead licks his lip.

“You actually thought I would kiss you,” he then splutters out and Pierre wishes the ground would just open up and swallow him whole, so he would never have to look at his best friend again.  
He can hear Charles release a shaky breath, while there is something in the younger driver’s eyes that he can only describe as fear.

“D-did you… did you _want_ me to kiss you?” Charles asks, quietly, so quiet that his voice is barely more than a whisper.  
Pierre feels his stomach drop at the question, shivering.

He wants to tell Charles, wants to _scream_ it at him, just how much he wanted to be kissed by him. But he doesn’t say anything, absolutely incapable do to anything at all.  
He feels hurt and he feels ridiculed and just so incredibly _stupid_ for daring to believe Charles would actually want to kiss someone like him.

He sees Charles getting up and walking back around the table, and Pierre has to avert his eyes now, facing the other way, because he can’t take any of this.  
The shift of the cushions on the couch tell him that Charles has sat down next to him, but Pierre doesn’t want him here.

“Can you just leave, please,” he whispers, not trusting his voice that comes out all hoarse.

“You’re my best friend,” Charles says and Pierre almost snorts at that, because what does that have to do with anything?  
“Please,” he repeats and he hates how pleading his voice sounds, while he’s on the brink of crying now.  
“You’re my best friend, Pierre,” Charles repeats and Pierre just thinks it’s cruel for him to say that again. Charles has made it pretty clear already that friendship is the only thing he ever wants to share with him. He doesn’t need to rub it in any further.

“You’re my best friend,” Charles says a third time and when Pierre turns around to snap at the Monégasque, to tell him to shut up and just leave him alone, his words get caught in his throat when he finds Charles looking at him with his green eyes blown in shock.

“You’re my best friend,” Charles whispers and his hand is suddenly on top of Pierre’s own, that is still hugging his knees.  
“You’re my best friend and I had no idea,” Charles breathes and his fingers suddenly wrap around Pierre’s hand.

Charles is so close once again that their thighs are touching and Pierre isn’t able to stop a tear from rolling down his cheek, trying to blink it away only resulting in blurring his vision.

“I had no idea,” Charles whispers and one second Pierre sees him looking at him with those damned green eyes, when the next second, Charles suddenly leans in.  
The Monégasque leans his forehead against Pierre’s and the Frenchman can hear his quick breathing now, while he feels his blood rushing in his ears.

“Did you want me to kiss you?” Charles asks and his voice is barely audible and Pierre thinks he might die any second.  
He doesn’t have it in him to say anything, so he just nods, his heart beating faster once again.  
Charles is so close that he feels his breath on his lips, making them tingle, and it feels like too many things are happening at once, for he has no idea what is going on at the moment.

But the next thing he knows is that Charles cups his jaw again, with both hands this time, and when Charles presses his lips against Pierre’s, it is with such force, with such desperation, that it knocks all remaining oxygen straight out of the Frenchman’s lungs.  
Charles’ lips are warm and soft and Pierre thinks he might pass out.  
He feels the younger man’s fingers on his skin, feels him drawing him closer, and Pierre has never been kissed like this before. The kiss makes him feel breathless, but Charles doesn’t give him time to breathe, he just deepens the kiss and holds on to Pierre as if his life depends on it.  
So Pierre wraps his arms around Charles back, hesitant at first, but when Charles makes a small sound, one that goes straight to Pierre’s heart, he places a hand in his best friend’s neck.

When Charles eventually breaks the kiss, he doesn’t draw back, and instead seems to pull him even closer, hiding his face away against Pierre’s neck.  
They’re both breathing heavily by now, with none of them saying a word until Charles eventually looks up at him.

Pierre stares at him, with his insides exploding, feeling lightheaded and disbelieving and absolutely mind-blown.  
Charles’ green eyes are roaming over his face so quickly that he feels dizzy just from trying to keep up with it.  
“I had no idea,” Charles whispers and Pierre actually feels like crying now, although from happiness.  
So he leans in and presses another kiss to Charles’ lips, softer this time, and Charles buries his fingers in Pierre’s hair, breathing in his scent.

**Author's Note:**

> okay, i don't know how we ended up here, given I'm not a fan of tiktok and it's policies at all, but then again, I get lost on that app so often and I saw this video of someone pranking their friend and....  
> oof.  
> let me know what you think in the comments, if you want to
> 
> \- johanna xx


End file.
